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The HoHkaUurist and Journal 



become so chilled by the cold air without any 

 frost, that they will never entirely recover 

 from it. 



Putting the seeds in the ground is a small 

 job, compared with what it was years ago. A 

 good boy, 15 or 16 years old, with a good 

 Harrington or Comstock seed sower, will sow 

 an acre of ground in a day with the small 

 seeds, and will do the work better than twenty 

 men will do the same work by hand. Upon 

 my light soil I sow the small seeds about an 

 inch in depth, and of onion seed from 3^ to 4 

 pounds per acre ; the rows 14 inches apart ; 

 early carrots and radishes, 12 inches ; beets, 

 16 inches ; parsnips, 18 inches between the 

 rows, and with all of them we regulate the 

 machine so that it will drop from one to two 

 seeds per inch in the rows, as you will find it 

 nuich easier to destroy some of the young 

 jdants, than to fill the vacancies if there are 

 not enough. Peas should be among the first 

 of seeds in the ground. The same may be 

 said of onions, not oidy for the earl}- ones, but 

 for the late or main crop. With regard to 

 this crop, there arc three things that are abso- 

 lute necessities ; and I have never yet seen 

 what I call a good crop of onions where either 

 of the three had been neglected. The first of 

 these is very rich ground, the second is to get 

 them in verv early, so that they may have the 

 cool, damp weather of spring to get started ; 

 the last requisite is thorough cultivation, and 

 this, too, at the right time. I consider the 

 onion crop about as sure as any crop I raise, 

 if the conditions necessai'y for a good crop are 

 complied with, but if they are not, complete 

 failure is an almost absolute certainty. By 

 the time these hardy, and half hardy crops 

 are in the ground, it will be late enough to 

 plant early potatoes and put out your early 

 cabbage, for I am taking it for granted that 

 you have a good set of hot-beds, or else, what 

 is still better, a hot-house, where you have 

 been getting a fine lot of cabbage, cauliflower 

 and tomato plants, as well as other things, 

 ready for the open ground as soon as the sea- 

 son will permit. And here hit me say, that 

 when your cabbage does not head well, four- 

 fifths of the time, it is simply because the soil 



is not strong enough to bring forward a full 

 crop. It is possible to make a piece of land 

 too rich for potatoes, but I have never seen a 

 crop of cabbages injured in that way, and 

 never expect to. Hence, don't spare the 

 manure upon your cabbage ground. Toma- 

 toes, egg-plant, peppers and sweet potatoes 

 should not be put out until the ground has 

 become warm and the spring frosts are over. 



Off-hand Notes. 



BT " OLD GARDENER." 



rPHE singing of the robin and bluebird has 

 A lured me out from my cozy den, where I 

 have been hybernating all winter long, among 

 my dried plants, in the herbarium ; and as I 

 step my foot upon the turf, just turning green 

 with the mildness of the early spring days, the 

 violets, crocus, and snow-drops bid me wel- 

 come. The bright sunshine makes one feel 

 like gardening, and this suggests a multitude 

 of little hints that I have gained in previous 

 years ; so with your kind permission, dear 

 editor, I will occasionally send this record of 

 my experience, as it may occur to my mind. 



The Washington Pear.— I don't see 

 what is the matter with our pomologists now-a- 

 days, for it strikes me they are turning their 

 backs on many of the good old-fashioned 

 fruits, that some of us can recollect with such 

 vivid suggestions of excellence. Now, the 

 old trees planted by my ancestors still stand, 

 and among them, not one, no, not even the 

 Seckel, can exceed this delicious pear — the 

 Washington. True, there are seasons when 

 it does not produce largely, but then it is 

 generally at its best, and when it is loaded 

 heavily, the fruit does not ripen properly. A 

 proper thinning of the crop obviates this difii- 

 culty, however, and I would then like to see 

 the pear that will sell better in the markets or 

 in the confectioner's window. It delights in 

 a rather heavy soil, with a good coat of ma- 

 nure occasionally, and then the reward is sure. 



Among the most pleasant reminiscences of 

 my far-away boyhood days, are those pertain- 

 ing to the search amidst the tall dewy grass, 

 in early morning, for the golden treasures 



